editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Carrie Johnson is a Justice Correspondent for the Washington Desk. She covers a wide variety of stories about justice issues, law enforcement and legal affairs for NPR's flagship programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered , as well as the Newscasts and NPR.org. While in this role, Johnson has chronicled major challenges to the landmark voting rights law, a botched law enforcement operation targeting gun traffickers along the Southwest border, and the Obama administration's deadly drone program for suspected terrorists overseas. Prior to coming to NPR in 2010, Johnson worked at the Washington Post for 10 years, where she closely observed the FBI, the Justice Department and criminal trials of the former leaders of Enron, HealthSouth and Tyco. Earlier in her career, she wrote about courts for the weekly publication Legal Times . Outside of her role at NPR, Johnson regularly moderates or appears on legal panels for the American Bar Association, the American Constitution Society,NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Carrie JohnsonSun, 11 Feb 2018 02:15:18 +0000Carrie Johnsonhttp://wesa.fm
Carrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Rachel Brand, the No. 3 person at the Justice Department, will be leaving her post. Her departure is notable because she would be in line to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who's supervising the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson joins us now with more. Hi, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Ari. SHAPIRO: Rachel's been in this job nine months. Why is she leaving already? JOHNSON: Well, in short, she got an offer she couldn't refuse. Five people close to Rachel Brand tell me she's gotten an offer to become the top lawyer at Walmart, a Fortune 50 company and a really big deal. I'm told she wasn't looking. They came to her. Of course, Rachel Brand is a former Supreme Court clerk, worked for Justice Anthony Kennedy. She helped pick judges in the George W. Bush administration, then served on an intelligence oversight board. She's in herRachel Brand, Third In Command At The Justice Department, Is Leaving Her Posthttp://wesa.fm/post/rachel-brand-third-command-justice-department-leaving-her-post
102667 as http://wesa.fmSat, 10 Feb 2018 00:01:00 +0000Rachel Brand, Third In Command At The Justice Department, Is Leaving Her PostCarrie JohnsonUpdated at 7:11 p.m. ET The No. 3 official at the Justice Department will be stepping down after less than a year, leaving a key vacancy in the succession of people who are tasked with overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Justice Department announced Friday evening that Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand will be leaving her job in the coming weeks to take a position in the private sector. A source told NPR that Brand, who was sworn in last May, has been in talks about becoming the top lawyer at Walmart. Other sources said Brand has chafed for months at the limits of her post at DOJ. President Trump has repeatedly attacked the law enforcement agency and sought to cast doubt on special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Her role at the Justice Department was doubly important because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russia investigation, given his roleNo. 3 Justice Department Official Rachel Brand Will Step Downhttp://wesa.fm/post/no-3-justice-department-official-rachel-brand-will-step-down
102653 as http://wesa.fmFri, 09 Feb 2018 23:17:00 +0000No. 3 Justice Department Official Rachel Brand Will Step DownCarrie JohnsonOne year ago this week, Jeff Sessions stood beaming in the Oval Office as he awaited his swearing-in as the 84th attorney general of the United States. On that day last February, President Trump signed executive orders on violent crime and gangs, pledging that a "new era of justice begins." And, in the year that followed, Sessions has managed to transform the Justice Department, particularly in the areas of civil rights, immigration and drugs. Those policy initiatives have advanced despite an increasingly turbulent relationship among the president, Sessions and the institution he leads. Trump disavowed his attorney general over his recusal last year in the Russia investigation, and he has repeatedly attacked the Justice Department and the FBI as inept or politically motivated. For his part, Sessions has tried to have it both ways. He has offered a few words of praise for his deputies at Justice, but told an audience this week that he knows there are sharp critics of his department. "IIn His First Year As Attorney General, Sessions Transforms Justice In Key Wayshttp://wesa.fm/post/his-first-year-attorney-general-sessions-transforms-justice-key-ways
102578 as http://wesa.fmFri, 09 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000In His First Year As Attorney General, Sessions Transforms Justice In Key WaysCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: We're joined now by NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, who was listening in to that conversation. Carrie, what did you hear in there? CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Well, I thought it was so interesting that Congressman Hurd, a former CIA employee himself, talked about these folks just wanting to do their jobs. The people I talked to in the FBI and the Justice Department do in fact just want to do their jobs. And they believe that their jobs are being made more difficult by these tweets from the president and these incessant attacks from the White House and the president's allies on their integrity, on their character. Just yesterday, the FBI Agents Association issued a strong statement in support of its new director, Chris Wray, pointing out that these agents take an oath to protect the Constitution, not the man or woman who's in the White House. And the president's tweet this morning also seemed to suggest that he believesUnpacking The Reaction To Plans To Release The Nunes Memohttp://wesa.fm/post/unpacking-reaction-plans-release-nunes-memo
102089 as http://wesa.fmFri, 02 Feb 2018 15:58:00 +0000Unpacking The Reaction To Plans To Release The Nunes MemoCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: We're going to talk now about one name that has been in focus in this controversy over that memo. It's the second in command at the Justice Department, Rod Rosenstein. And to talk more about him, NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson is with us now. Hi, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Ari. SHAPIRO: So Rod Rosenstein is the deputy attorney general, but he oversees Mueller, the special counsel. He's the acting attorney general in that respect. You've covered him for a very long time. What can you tell us about him? JOHNSON: Sure. Rod Rosenstein runs the Justice Department day to day. A lot stops on his desk. And he's a Justice Department lifer. He joined the Justice Department more than 27 years ago as a young person through the honors program. He worked in the tax unit. He worked on detail for independent counsel Ken Starr in the Whitewater investigation. Then, Ari, he became U.S. attorney in Baltimore for 11 yearsDeputy AG Rod Rosenstein Under Pressure As Republicans Prepare To Release Memohttp://wesa.fm/post/deputy-ag-rod-rosenstein-under-pressure-republicans-prepare-release-memo
102033 as http://wesa.fmThu, 01 Feb 2018 21:37:00 +0000Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Under Pressure As Republicans Prepare To Release MemoCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: President Trump has been asked many times whether he was thinking of firing the lawyer leading the investigation into Russia's election interference, and usually the president's answer goes like this. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, I'm not, no. No, not at all. No, I'm not dismissing anybody. I mean, I want them to get on with the task. But I also want the Senate and the House to come out with their findings. SHAPIRO: Now, a report in The New York Times says the president did in fact order that special counsel Robert Mueller be dismissed last June. According to that report, White House lawyer Don McGahn said he would resign rather than carry out the directive. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson joins us now to fill in the details. Hi, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey, Ari. SHAPIRO: What do we know about this conflict back in June? JOHNSON: NPR has not independently confirmed that TrumpHow Reports Of Trump Trying To Fire Mueller Could Affect The Russia Investigationhttp://wesa.fm/post/how-reports-trump-trying-fire-mueller-could-affect-russia-investigation
101584 as http://wesa.fmFri, 26 Jan 2018 21:21:00 +0000How Reports Of Trump Trying To Fire Mueller Could Affect The Russia InvestigationCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Republicans are trying to change the subject and move away from talking about the Russia investigation. But it's what they do want to talk about that's unusual. The party of law and order is raising big questions about the conduct of the FBI. Here's White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: You guys are absolutely obsessed with everything to do with collusion if it has anything to do with the president. We hope that you'll take some of that same obsession, energy and fervor and direct it to some of the places where it looks like there could've been some really inappropriate and possibly illegal behavior. KELLY: Well, there are a lot of plots and subplots swirling here. And to help us unswirl some of them, we've brought in NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Hi, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise. KELLY: Let's lay out what we actually know. WhatMissing FBI Text Messages Exemplify Animosity Between Organization And GOPhttp://wesa.fm/post/missing-fbi-text-messages-exemplify-animosity-between-organization-and-gop
101473 as http://wesa.fmThu, 25 Jan 2018 21:21:00 +0000Missing FBI Text Messages Exemplify Animosity Between Organization And GOPCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: Well, another milestone in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. NPR has confirmed that the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, sat for an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller last week. Let's talk about this with NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson, who's here. Hi, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, David. GREENE: So what exactly are you learning? JOHNSON: Well, two Justice Department officials confirmed to me this morning that Attorney General Sessions did, in fact, sit for a voluntary interview last week with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. That was first reported by The New York Times, and, David, it seems to be the first publicly known interview with a Trump cabinet official. Remember, Mueller's investigating Russian interference in the presidential election, contacts with the Trump campaign, and allegations of obstruction of justice in the firing of FBI Director James Comey. JeffSessions Sits For Voluntary Interview With Muellerhttp://wesa.fm/post/sessions-sits-voluntary-interview-mueller
101239 as http://wesa.fmTue, 23 Jan 2018 16:16:00 +0000Sessions Sits For Voluntary Interview With MuellerCarrie JohnsonOne Year In, Trump Has Kept A Major Promise: Reshaping The Federal Judiciaryhttp://wesa.fm/post/one-year-trump-has-kept-major-promise-reshaping-federal-judiciary
101093 as http://wesa.fmSun, 21 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000One Year In, Trump Has Kept A Major Promise: Reshaping The Federal JudiciaryCarrie JohnsonFormer White House strategist Steve Bannon frustrated lawmakers this week when he declined to answer many of their questions about his time in the Trump administration. To hear members of the House Intelligence Committee tell it, Bannon was using the concept of executive privilege to evade legitimate oversight from Congress. At the podium Wednesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders disagreed. "This White House is following the same practice that many before us have, that have gone back decades," Sanders said. "We encourage the committees to work with us to find the appropriate accommodation in order to ensure Congress obtains all the information that they're looking for." Lawyers from both political parties who have worked in the White House said the Trump administration's approach to the privilege is not so out of line with previous presidencies. Executive privilege is not enshrined in the Constitution, but the idea that it's important to protect internalBannon And Trump White House Raising Questions About Executive Privilege, Lawyers Sayhttp://wesa.fm/post/bannon-and-trump-white-house-raising-questions-about-executive-privilege-lawyers-say
100886 as http://wesa.fmThu, 18 Jan 2018 01:13:00 +0000Bannon And Trump White House Raising Questions About Executive Privilege, Lawyers SayCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit KELLY MCEVERS, HOST: Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has spent a total of 11 hours on Capitol Hill this week. Lawmakers who barely agree on anything reached a consensus on one point. They were pretty unhappy that Bannon declined to answer many of their questions. Bannon said the White House might want to assert executive privilege, which means he couldn't talk. With us to talk about this is NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Hey, Carrie. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Kelly. MCEVERS: So just remind us. What is executive privilege? JOHNSON: It's the idea that a president has a right to withhold information from Congress or the courts. The White House says that's important to protect internal deliberations on important issues. Intended to help get the president some good and candid advice, President Dwight Eisenhower came up with the phrase. Since then, lots of presidents from both political parties have used it to try to shieldWhen Can The White House Use Executive Privilege?http://wesa.fm/post/when-can-white-house-use-executive-privilege
100867 as http://wesa.fmWed, 17 Jan 2018 21:44:00 +0000When Can The White House Use Executive Privilege?Carrie JohnsonFormer Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort may not be headed for trial on money laundering and conspiracy charges until late autumn. The judge in his case expressed puzzlement over some of the legal positions he has taken. Lawyers for Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller have turned over thousands of pages of material to Manafort and his former business partner Richard Gates, a process that prosecutors said is continuing. But at least part of the holdup in the case is Manafort's own making, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said. "I'm not exactly sure when the trial date might be," Berman Jackson said at an hourlong status conference on Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. The prospect of several more months' worth of legal process might mean that Manafort's case might not go before a jury until the 2018 midterm elections are heating up. That could be unwelcome news for Republican allies of President Trump defending their majorities in the House and Senate. One area of confusionManafort Case Drags As Judge Puzzles Over Legal Positionshttp://wesa.fm/post/manafort-case-drags-judge-puzzles-over-legal-positions
100762 as http://wesa.fmTue, 16 Jan 2018 17:08:00 +0000Manafort Case Drags As Judge Puzzles Over Legal PositionsCarrie JohnsonPresident Trump campaigned on a promise of law and order. He courted endorsements from police unions. And he even hinted to an audience of police officers that he supported the idea of roughing up suspects (the White House later said he was joking). But on Thursday, the White House deployed the " bully pulpit " on behalf of a very different constituency: prisoners struggling when they return home. At a roundtable with policy experts and elected officials, Trump expressed a desire to "break this vicious cycle" of inmates turning to crime when their lives outside prison prove too difficult. Justice Department statistics report that about two-thirds of the 650,000 people who leave the corrections system every year are arrested again — within three years. "We have a great interest in helping them turn their lives around, get a second chance, and make our community safe," Trump said. White House aide Jared Kushner, whose father served prison time , has led the way on these issues for monthsTrump Uses Bully Pulpit To Support More Services For People Leaving Prisonshttp://wesa.fm/post/trump-uses-bully-pulpit-support-more-services-people-leaving-prisons
100533 as http://wesa.fmFri, 12 Jan 2018 10:02:00 +0000Trump Uses Bully Pulpit To Support More Services For People Leaving PrisonsCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: We've heard a lot this week about the political fallout from the new Michael Wolff book about the Trump White House and the big break the book has caused between the president and his former political guru Steve Bannon. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Together they promised to make America great again. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I like Steve a lot. STEVE BANNON: Donald Trump was the best candidate I think we had since Ronald Reagan. REPORTER: As of tonight, their bromance is now bust. SIEGEL: But beyond the political drama, the book says several things about the Russia investigation. And we want to take a moment to review the substance of them. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Among the important revelations, Wolff suggests that Donald Trump Jr. may have introduced his father to the Russians he hosted at Trump Tower during the presidential campaign. It also says that the Russia investigation is all about moneyThe Latest Developments In The Russia Investigationhttp://wesa.fm/post/latest-developments-russia-investigation
100067 as http://wesa.fmFri, 05 Jan 2018 21:58:00 +0000The Latest Developments In The Russia InvestigationCarrie JohnsonNearly one year into the Trump administration, the Justice Department has begun 2018 without Senate-confirmed leaders in at least six of its most important divisions. The department's top priority — and one often cited by the White House, too — is safeguarding national security. But Justice's national security unit has no permanent Trump appointee in place. What's more, a president and attorney general who campaigned on a promise of "law and order" do not have their choice in place to lead the Justice Department's criminal division, either. The Civil Rights Division, the Civil Division, the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the Tax Division are now being run by career lawyers or temporary White House appointees. Acting leaders are also in place at the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Community Relations Service. "I'm not aware of any precedent for so many key positions in DOJ and itsKey Vacancies At Justice Department 'Not A Recipe For Good Government'http://wesa.fm/post/key-vacancies-justice-department-not-recipe-good-government
99832 as http://wesa.fmWed, 03 Jan 2018 10:00:00 +0000Key Vacancies At Justice Department 'Not A Recipe For Good Government'Carrie JohnsonCopyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: President Trump has been calling the Russia investigation a witch hunt, and he spent the holiday season attacking the FBI as tainted and in tatters. Republican lawmakers are piling on. Here's Florida Congressman Francis Rooney on MSNBC this week. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MSNBC LIVE") FRANCIS ROONEY: I'm very concerned that the DOJ and the FBI - whether you want to call it deep state or what - are kind of off the rails. SIEGEL: With us to talk more about this controversy is NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Hiya. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hi, Robert. SIEGEL: Appears to be a strategy among those close to President Trump to attack the investigators who are conducting the Russia probe. What's the latest? JOHNSON: Well, the president appears to be mostly silent today about this on social media, but he spent a lot of time this Christmas season blasting the FBI and the Justice Department. He's targeting the FBI Deputy DirectorFBI Agents Association Sees Increased Donations As Special Counsel Criticism Continueshttp://wesa.fm/post/fbi-agents-association-sees-increased-donations-special-counsel-criticism-continues
99481 as http://wesa.fmWed, 27 Dec 2017 21:34:00 +0000FBI Agents Association Sees Increased Donations As Special Counsel Criticism ContinuesCarrie JohnsonFrom the airwaves of conservative media to the hearing rooms of the House of Representatives, Republican allies of the White House are attacking the Department of Justice investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. GOP voices are accusing the team assembled by special counsel Robert Mueller of bias against President Trump — and they're appearing to set the stage for some action. Senior Justice Department officials are defending the investigation, which has already secured indictments or guilty pleas against four people with ties to the Trump campaign. Here, we consider a few ways the White House or its allies could disrupt the special counsel probe. 1. Find a way to replace the attorney general The idea: Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe in March, he is not supervising special counsel Robert Mueller or his team. That means the buck stops with the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein told the House3 Ways Trump Or His Allies Might Try To Disrupt The Mueller Russia Probehttp://wesa.fm/post/3-ways-trump-or-his-allies-might-try-disrupt-mueller-russia-probe
98739 as http://wesa.fmSun, 17 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +00003 Ways Trump Or His Allies Might Try To Disrupt The Mueller Russia ProbeCarrie JohnsonPresident Trump, minutes before heading to speak at the FBI's National Academy, lashed out at the bureau, saying, "It's a shame what's happened with the FBI" and claiming there are "a lot of very angry people that are seeing it." Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, Trump said, "We're going to rebuild the FBI" after what he described as "really, really disgraceful" documents. He appeared to be referring to text messages the Justice Department provided Congress this week in which a senior agent described candidate Trump as an "idiot" and made other political remarks in the course of the presidential campaign. Trump's comments are the latest in a barrage of criticism he has directed at the FBI. Earlier this month, he declared on Twitter that the bureau's reputation is "in Tatters — worst in History!" That assessment came days after special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the Russia investigation, secured a guilty plea from Trump's first national security adviser, MichaelOn His Way to Speak At FBI, Trump Slams The Bureau And Opens Door To Pardoning Flynnhttp://wesa.fm/post/after-months-withering-criticism-trump-prepares-visit-fbi
98605 as http://wesa.fmFri, 15 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0000On His Way to Speak At FBI, Trump Slams The Bureau And Opens Door To Pardoning FlynnCarrie JohnsonCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: A new study finds that a lot of money is flowing into races for state Supreme Court. Millions of dollars are coming from sometimes mysterious donors, and a lot of it goes to negative advertising. Here's NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: For nearly 20 years, the Brennan Center for Justice has been following the money in state Supreme Court elections. Senior Counsel Alicia Bannon says the trends are going in one direction - up. ALICIA BANNON: In 1999, there were seven states that where there was at least one justice on the bench that had been involved in a million-dollar race. Now, the number is 20. So more than half of all states that use elections for choosing their Supreme Court judges have what we call a million-dollar court. JOHNSON: In the last election cycle alone, Bannon says Supreme Court elections attracted more than $69 million. More than half of the financial contributions came fromMoney Is Flowing Into State Supreme Court Races, Study Sayshttp://wesa.fm/post/money-flowing-state-supreme-court-races-study-says
98531 as http://wesa.fmThu, 14 Dec 2017 12:46:00 +0000Money Is Flowing Into State Supreme Court Races, Study SaysCarrie JohnsonThe nomination of Brett Talley, the Justice Department official in line for a lifetime judicial appointment, "will not be moving forward," a Trump administration official told NPR on Wednesday. Talley had been rated "unanimously unqualified" for the post by the American Bar Association this year after an evaluation that questioned his experience. Talley had never argued a case, or even a motion, in federal court, he testified. Even after Talley's nomination advanced through the Senate Judiciary Committee on an 11-9 party-line vote, media reports and good government groups cast doubt on his credentials for the spot on the U.S. District Court in Alabama, along with raising questions about his alleged failures to disclose blog posts and his wife's work in the Trump White House. Talley, a Harvard Law School graduate, came to personify a wave of criticism over the Trump administration's judicial selections. The pressure intensified this week, when Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who leadsWhite House: Nomination Of Alabama Lawyer Brett Talley 'Will Not Be Moving Forward'http://wesa.fm/post/white-house-nomination-alabama-lawyer-brett-talley-will-not-be-moving-forward
98455 as http://wesa.fmWed, 13 Dec 2017 17:23:00 +0000White House: Nomination Of Alabama Lawyer Brett Talley 'Will Not Be Moving Forward'